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I’ve been waiting for the coffee break. I’m a couple weeks behind, but I thought this NPR story on a Sesame Street video that a Muppeteer wrote for his daughter was so sweet. Curly and “ethnic”-haired Corporettes will appreciate it (and Kat, maybe post it to your facebook thing?).

I’m giving my first seminar next week! Lecture will be emerging issues in my area of law to a group of non-lawyers. There will be about 100 peopole in attendance. I’m planning on wearing a suit, but am trying to decide between standard court room attire or something not so stuffy. Any presentation tips/wardrobe suggestions?

L – For lectures I like to go with a classic, court suit complimented by a “not so stuffy” accent such as your shoes, under blouse, or jewelry. Also, make sure that you have a nice hair style and good makeup that day. People will be staring at you for hours, make it pleasant for them :)

I’d recommend a suit in a color that complements your coloring, and not necessarily the gray/black suit you might normally wear to court. This is a great opportunity to wear the red or purple suit that’s been hiding in the closet. Usual court wardrobe caveats apply: Make sure your shoes are comfortable to stand for long periods of time; no jangly jewelry, etc. I agree with ERP that this is an opportunity to show a little personality through accessories.

From my own hits and misses giving 4 hour lectures to grad students:
– wear comfy shoes
– maybe one stand out piece of jewelry but in general keep it simple (and no jingly stuff or bracelets)
– watch out for lecturing/only answering questions from the “magic T” the T is the first row across and the people sitting in a direct line in front of you – there’s a natural tendency to lecture/pay attn to just the people in the T
– move around the space you have – don’t just stand in one spot
– make eye contact with people around the room (or if that makes your nervous – look at their foreheads)
– depending on length/format – give a break and do activities
– don’t just read of slides or handouts
– I like to wear pants/jackets with pockets and have a pen in hand/pocket so I can either write on the white board or just use it to make points

I can’t remember the last time I wore a watch! The time is always available on my computer, my cell phone, and my desk phone, so a watch seems redundant. My experience lately has been if it would be rude to look at my phone, it is probably rude to be looking at a watch. I remember when watches were status statements but I don’t think that they are so much anymore.

I recently bought one for the first time (not a status statement, just a pretty, feminine looking gold one) and I’m addicted. I can covertly check the time so much easier when it’s on my wrist…plus it dresses my outfit up and seems so much more acceptable with my suit than bracelets (easier to type with too).

This. I picked up a cute polished one on ideeli and just pair it with pearl studs almost every day. It’s boring, but makes getting easier ready and I don’t have to sit in a clock-less courtroom wondering what time it is and if the risk of trying to check my cellphone’s time is worth attracting the judge’s attention at that moment.

I wear a watch when I know I’m going to want to covertly check the time. Just put the face of the watch on the inside of my wrist and it’s so easy to get a glance without being obvious about it. It has a slightly decorative, fairly small linked band, and I have it fitted somewhat loosely, so it looks like a bracelet from the top when it’s turned around like that.

I can’t wear a watch either because I’m allergic to metal. Even with the protective plastic backing still on the stainless steel, I will break out from the clasp. I wore one to the bar so I could know what time it was (very loose) and even then I was starting to get rosy in the wrist. I would really like to wear a watch again but it seems like it’s just not in the cards for me.

Sorry for the early threadjack, but a job-hunting Corporette needs some quick advice from those of you who review resumes. When a posting asks you to send a cover letter and resume by email, should the cover letter be in the body of the email, or should it be a separate attachment (like the resume)? Thanks!

I have some but not a lot of experience on the reviewing side (and plenty on the applying side!), so weigh accordingly. IMO a separate attachment provides for a much nicer-looking printout to go in the file, and overall has a more refined and professional appearance. The body of the email can simply say that you’ve attached a cover letter and resume in connection with your application for Position X. (If you know or have some connection to the recipient of the email, you might vary that, but otherwise, it’s in your cover letter and you don’t want to waste someone’s time by providing the same introductory info twice.)

great question! I would be interested in hearing from a few people regarding what industry they work in as well (i.e. is it different in law firms [big/small/mid], government, finance/accounting, business, etc). Many of us who are getting ready to graduate are applying for jobs not necessarily in our expected field so knowing how this varies across the spectrum would be great info to know!

I’d prefer a separate document. Sometimes I forget to print the email itself and then I wonder why there’s no cover letter in the file. In the email, just write “Please find attached my cover letter and resume as an application for Position.”

I’m in law. Separate pdf files for the cover letter and resume. Each should have a file name with your name, like Smith Emily Cover Letter.pdf, and Smith Emily Resume.pdf. Put your name in the subject of the e-mail (Application for xxx position from Emily Smith). The text of the e-mail should be something like: attached please find my application for xx job. Yours truly, xxx.

Great advice re: pdf! Don’t send it in a format that may be incompatible with the receiver’s system (e.g., my job uses word perfect, sending something that MS word will mean that IF I can open it, the format will be super screwy). And plus 1000 on including your name clearly + what the doc is — seeing “myres” as an attachment is not a good thing.

A voice of dissent. I personally like to see a short bio about the person or the resume highlights typed into the email (along with an attachment). I’m on my BB constantly and I hate having to peer at a pdf’s with squinty eyes. If they have the goods, their resume/bio will jump off the BB screen, no zooming needed.

I’m a fan of sending PDFs over Word docs anyday: any typos, uncommon words (correctly spelled, but not in Word’s dictionary), formatting anomolies– those will all get highlighted with Word’s ubiquitous red or green squiggle underline if the recipient has grammar and spell check turned on! That’s just unappealing, imho. A PDF generally avoids this issue and gives the reader a fresh, judgment free copy to work with. Just my 2 cents.

I prefer cover letter and resume in one document. That way, they’re together and if I need to refer back later, I can pull up just one doc. I can’t save things in email for too long; our box limit is too low. So I save the cover letter/resume into a file folder on my hard drive.

Side note: PLEASE don’t name your document “resume”. Add your name or initials. EG, “J Smith resume.pdf”. I also hate huge long file names that get cut off.

In the email itself, a *short* summary would be appreciated. E.g., I am Jane Smith, 2L at American U, seeking summer position at XYZ agency. I have ABC background/interest/experience — something that pops and creates a connection to the job you’re applying for. So in my case, since I practice energy law, I’m always looking for some kind of energy connection in applicants. Above note saying, “I am interested in your agency because last summer, I worked for Y utility/took a class on energy/whatever” will draw quick, extra attention.

My law school career center emphasized sending things in PDF for a couple of reasons. You know what it will look like to the person viewing (no word/word perfect snafus), plus less chance it could be accidentally altered (as is possible with a word doc).

What do you all do when you’re the only woman in a professional setting and the men you’re with start apologizing to you for swearing or making off-color jokes? I tend to run into this with clients and consultants rather than c0-workers,* and I find it rather awkward. I don’t actually care about the language (I’ve used worse) or the jokes, but I’m not a fan of being treated like or coming off as the little girl at the table who needs to be protected. (Today one guy made a joke and another said “Hey, don’t forget [V] is on the line.”) Any graceful way to handle this?

* Who never apologize for swearing and tend not to make particularly off-color jokes.

This happens to me all.the.time as my clients and colleagues are men who on average have 20 years on me. When they apologize for swearing, I try to do the breezy brush-off, e.g. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing I didn’t say on my commute this morning.” If it’s a joke on a conference call, I try to make a point of chuckling audibly to fend off the apology.

Obviously this does not go for the truly offensive comments. Know your comfort level and don’t play along if something truly gets to you. I am not easily offended, but when someone crosses into racist or otherwise unacceptable territory, I say something.

If it’s off color enough that it was inappropriate, don’t brush it off breezily – just say something like “oh, thanks for apologizing.” But if you were not offended or uncomfortable at all, then just say something breezy, like “I’m a big girl, we can use grown up words” or “that’s what I said on my commute this morning” as C2 sugested.

At what point do you call someone on touching you, in a work situation? I am not talking about inappropriate sexual touching, but the “grab on the arm” or “arm around the shoulder” type of touching. I am teaching at a conference this week with a bunch of military guys and one of them, who is involved with the conference planning team, did either the arm-grab or the shoulder-hug about four times today. I am not the only one he has done it to but I am the only one he has done it to this consistently. I am kind of taken aback as I thought these high-ranked military guys were supposed to be standoffish? I was dressed in a pantsuit with a high-necked shell underneath and very modest hair/jewelry (including my wedding and engagement rings)/makeup so I don’t think I am throwing off a “come and get it” type of vibe. The conference is over in two days – should I just let it go? Or should I say something the next time he wraps his hand around my bicep? He does it so quickly and then runs off to do something else so there’s not much opportunity to confront the behavior.

I’ve found that noticeably avoiding the physical contact, blocking it, or removing the hand work best. For some reason, inappropriate-touchers seem to “justify” themselves when you ask them not to touch you.

I used to be a very touchy person. I would do exactly what you described him doing while talking with people. It never occured to me (at first) that it could make someone uncomfortable. Then, I was in a training one day and had my hand on my female coworkers arm while telling her a story. She point blank said “I really prefer to not be touched. Sorry.” I totally learned my lesson and stopped “touching” people at work. I say be direct. That said, I found her reaction a little odd and wondered what the heck her problem was. It wasn’t like I was trying to hug her.

I think it is a big deal in a work situation. My guess is that if the guy in question is like this with the OP, then there are probably others who have similar problems with him. I think the fact that he does shoulder hug/arm grab with her several times a day may also give others the wrong impression. There is no reason she should have to suck it up just because he’s more touchy feely than others.

If it makes her uncomfortable, she has the right to speak up, regardless of whether or not an objective audience of her peers would consider it inappropriate or perfectly acceptable.

Many of the people I know through outside interests/activities do the hug/cheek kiss greeting. I do not – I think it is overly familiar and awkward (this is my opinion – if other people find it perfectly acceptable, or preferable, then great! just not me). So I stand firm to my “actually, I’m a handshake girl” and just keep my hand out firmly. People get the message quickly, and in years of doing this, I haven’t lost respect or friendships.

One of my co-workers wraps her arm around our shoulders on a regular basis, and while she’s trying to be friendly, she has dragon breath so it’s really disgusting for the person on the receiving end. The first time she did it to me I said – Hey! Not without dinner and a movie first! The second time she did it to me, she removed her arm herself and said – Oops! I have to buy you dinner first!
She doesn’t do it to me anymore.

If you are uncomfortable with it, it needs to stop. I get hugs – full hugs – from attorneys I haven’t seen in a while, and that doesn’t bother me. But there is an attorney who used to get his hands all over me – none of the “forbidden zones” – but my arms, my shoulders, “fixing” my clothing or hair, and it absolutely creeped me out. And made me livid. I tried pulling away, and he didn’t get the message. I tried saying “whoa, you’re in my space”, and he didnt’ get the message. I said, “do not touch me”, and he didn’t get the message. So finally I told him that if he touched me one more time, I would clock him. I certainly hope you don’t have to be that aggressive to end the touching. I’d start with body language – i.e. gently but definately pulling away, and if that doesn’t work, proceed to words. Don’t apologize!!! No “I’m sorry, but I’m not comfortable” or such. Just state it plainly and politely, or perhaps even lightheartedly, “No touching. Thanks” or the like.

By the way, I was always, always, always, dressed modestly. I like being covered up in criminal court! I think my problem has been that I’m 5’2″ and no matter what I do with my hair, makeup, clothes, have a very feminine vibe. Not flirty, just feminine. Also, I do my best to treat everyone the way my mamma raised me to, and my theory is that maladjusted people don’t recognize this as simple courtesy, but read meaning into it. I am a creep magnet, and I think it’s the “be nice to people” thing. The creeps make more of it than simple human kindness. People hug me. Some people give off the “creep” vibe even when they’re doing nothing that is overtly creepy. Pay attention to your gut feeling – it is correct. If you are dealing with a real creep and not just an idiot, you may have to be somewhat aggressive in stating your request of “no touchy”.

Glad to know I’m not the only one covering up in criminal court. Sounds awful, but there are some outwardly unsavory folks oogling my goodies in there, even in a turtleneck (in which, due to my bust size, I can still look like a tramp). Civil court has its full range of creepers, but they tend to be a little more on the sly.